The recent gutting of the NWT Liquor Licensing Board is the latest example of how quickly the territorial government will hand out pink slips when it doesn't get its way.
In October 2002, the NWT Power Corporation board was fired for doing what they were told: requesting a flat-rate electricity charge wanted by their minister, Joe Handley.
They were given a choice to do what the government wanted or be fired.
A month later, the Stanton Territorial Health Board fired the hospital CEO then quit en masse for doing too good of a job. Faced with orders to balance the budget as ordered by Health Minister Michael Miltenberger, departments were closed and patients shipped south. When the public said enough was enough, the minister shifted the blame to the board and the CEO. That left the board little choice but to resign and then the minister appointed his deputy minister, Dave Murray, that same day to act in its place.
Next up was the booze board.
The chair and vice-chair quit earlier this year, blaming the government for lack of support. On Sept. 3, Finance Minister Floyd Roland fired Yellowknife board member David Connelly.
Connelly can blame himself for getting fired. If he had concerns about interference, he should have gone straight to the minister and given the process a chance to work. Instead, he mounted a whisper campaign and created a paper trail based on his suspicions.
The main complaint against the board continues to be that it exceeded its mandate. Curiously, the Hughes report made specific recommendations on how to fix structural problems but did not question any of the board's judgments on the cases before them. Still, the government obviously did not like what the board was doing, just like it didn't like what the hospital and power corp. boards doing.
In all three cases, the boards were attempting to do what they thought the government wanted, but politics changed what the government wanted.
It begs the question: how independent are these boards anyway?
Premier Handley should raise that question next time cabinet meets. These boards need to know they're free to do their work without the threat of a government axe hanging over their heads. Otherwise, what good are they?
Editorial Comment
Lisa Scott
Kivalliq News
A news release came across my desk this week that has the capacity to put fear into the hearts of all Nunavummiut.
It was the result of a study by the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental body made up of eight Arctic nations, including Canada.
Inuit and Arctic people, along with 600 scientists and the council, participated in it.
The results warn of an increasing warming trend that threatens to obliterate the Inuit way of life.
"Climate change will soon make the Arctic regions of the world nearly unrecognizable, dramatically disrupting traditional Inuit and other Northern native people's way of life," it warns.
It talks of melting sea ice and permafrost and the possible extinction of marine mammals like polar bears, walrus and seals.
Most Canadians have been aware of this warming trend for years, but are Inuit and other Arctic peoples aware of the added threat to Northern climates?
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment study says the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, with calculations of a 6C increase by the end of the century.
If the Arctic warming trend is truly "an early warning barometer for what will happen in the rest of the world," then that puts Arctic people in a position to be heard.
Speak out on climate change that's happening in your community when you travel. Record anything unusual that you notice on hunting trips about the animals or their environment. Contact your MLA to ask about climate change in the Arctic and ask them not only what they are doing about it, but what you can do, too.
Affirmative action tips
Environment Canada's Web site has a section devoted to affirmative action tips for Canadians to reduce their daily impact on climate change. You can take the one-tonne challenge to reduce waste and energy in your own household.
No action means "the end of the Inuit as a hunting culture," according to Sheila Watt-Cloutier, chairwoman of the Arctic Council.
We are bombarded with studies like this one almost every day. But if its findings are even moderately accurate, Arctic communities stand to lose the most.
Look around and see what you can do to reduce waste and emissions. Walk to work, leave the Honda at the house and start working towards saving the Arctic way of life.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
As Canada's health care woes dominate the headlines, the cost of delivering health and social services in the North remains a top concern for a territorial government treading in dangerous financial waters.
Maintain the same service with less seems to be the prime directive from the health czars in Yellowknife.
While our regional health and social services chief executive officer asserts that this scenario is possible, actually making it happen remains to be seen.
One problem, says our CEO, is retaining qualified and experienced health care workers.
It's one thing to lure them up here with promises of big salaries, but keeping them seems to be a problem according those in the know.
More trips, more cash
A shortfall in specialists and in some cases basic medical service in more remote communities means more trips south or to Yellowknife for Northern patients. It also means a skyrocketing tab for the GNWT.
While there is no quick-fix solution to this problem, perhaps offering health care professionals fresh from school the opportunity to work in the North for a fixed period, in exchange for paying their student loans, might provide some hope.
Attractive offer
At the very least, it takes seven or eight years to earn a degree in medicine, and, with the rising cost of education leaving many graduates in a financial hole, the prospect of earning a great salary and having student loans forgiven could be very attractive.
If the term of service was, say five years, chances are the territory will retain a significant number of those willing to do a "Northern tour."
For those who leave -- and surely numbers will equal or surpass the ones who stay -- there will be dozens of fresh graduates lining up to fill those spots. And a solid core of experienced ones to shepherd the rookies coming into the system.
Though this plan does not ensure health care professionals experienced in delivering care in the North at the outset, 10 or 15 years down the road it could very well provide for that solid base of experience all regional health authorities crave.
Preventative measures
As the old saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" may be better rephrased for the North as "10 cigarettes less a day...," there is nothing more compelling in these times of overflowing waiting rooms and soaring prescription drug prices as adhering to a healthy lifestyle.
It has been shown that aboriginal people are more prone to type II diabetes, a totally preventable disease.
Refined sugars found in most processed foods are the primary culprit here, not to mention fast food, which tends to wreak havoc in bodies not accustomed to dealing with such things.
The health department's campaign in the North to lead healthier lifestyles should be backed up by legislation banning food in the North that we know to cause type II diabetes amongst aboriginal people.
Some will say a ban such as this would be costly to enforce, besides the fact that processed foods tend to be the cheaper option.
However, if the GNWT really wants to be proactive in the health care arena, taking a closer look at this may be the order of the day to keep potential health problems of the future at bay.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
Newspapers should strive to be accurate and fair.
Those are elements that are integral to the reputation of any media outlet.
Sensitivity is another attribute that newspapers occasionally struggle with, especially in small communities. Weighing news value against a person's right to privacy is something that had to be considered this week. After a brief deliberation, the answer was obvious, although difficult.
The chief in Nahanni Butte was charged with four crimes on Sept. 3. He has since resigned.
Realistically, the story couldn't be written without identifying the chief and the circumstances leading up to his resignation.
That is news.
There is no dilemma from a legal standpoint. When a person, other than a young offender, is charged with a crime, it's generally a matter of public record.
Nonetheless, those who are charged are usually not named by this newspaper. The names of those who are convicted of serious offences are sometimes published.
Exceptions are made -- as in the case of the Nahanni Butte chief -- when charges are laid against those who hold positions of public trust. A chief, a mayor, a police officer and school principals, for example, are commonly considered to be community leaders.
When they breach that public trust, or even when they are accused of it, they are in the spotlight.
That said, being charged does not mean that the individual is guilty. That is for the courts to determine.
The Drum will make every effort to follow this case to its conclusion.
What's expected of a chief is honesty, accountability, good judgment and foresight.
Taking on the title of chief doesn't make a person infallible, of course. However, that individual assumes greater responsibility than the average citizen. That cannot be denied.
What has happened in Nahanni Butte is a setback for the community. Yet there had already been talk of the divided nature of things in the Butte, population approximately 100, for much of the past year. The community is comprised of several families, but there is friction between a few of them.
If residents needed a chance to regroup and start fresh, they should seize this opportunity.
Hockey woes
Well, it's official. The NHL season has now hit the skids as of Wednesday. Multi-millionaire players and multi-millionaire owners are bickering over who gets what share of the pie.
Some owners insist they are actually losing money. The league wants a salary cap.
Fans, the very people whose support is needed for the game to survive, could be left out in the cold without a single NHL game to watch this winter.
With the uncompromising stances assumed by the team owners and players' union, and with ticket prices already out of reach for many middle class families, the average Canadian may penalize the NHL more than two minutes in the sin bin.
This love affair may be heading for a game misconduct or a lengthy suspension.